Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall
by somebadhat
Summary: Set during 'Humpty Dumpty'.Cuddy tells Stacy about her and House's one night stand in college, Stacy gets jealous. House is mad that Cuddy told someone about it period.
1. Chapter 1: Objectivity

Cuddy still felt guilty about having to amputate Alfredo's hand. She knew the situation had called for it but maybe had she kept her feelings out of it he would still have his hand and his livelihood.

She had to vent to somebody. She certainly couldn't vent to House, he would be like a broken record. He would say 'I told you so' over and over. Wilson would of course parrot everything she said back to House. Stacy was the next closest thing she had to a friend in the hospital.

They were talking when House walked into her office. Apparently she was being sued, _great_.

Before he left House did something to surprise her though. He didn't say 'I told you so', in fact he made her feel better about the whole situation. With his own brand of melancholy of course tacked on, but with House what else is to be expected?

"You see the world as it is and you see it as it could be."

Here it comes, she thought. But no, he wasn't about to get on her back about being emotionally detached.

"What you don't see is what everybody else sees: the giant gaping chasm in between. You're not happy unless things are just right." He folded his hands over his cane. Stacy and Cuddy both waited for him to finish.

"Which means two things. You're a good boss," he said, "and you'll never be happy."

And with that he was leaving. As he reached the door he turned around.

"Why does everyone think we had sex?" he asked Cuddy. "Think there's something to it?"

He shut the door behind him before any response could be formulated- from Cuddy or Stacy. Stacy gave Cuddy a questioning glance.

"You and House sleeping together, ha. That's absurd." She laughed almost nervously.

Cuddy laughed with her, but she kept her mouth shut and looked at her computer. Stacy raised her eyebrows at Cuddy.

"_Right_?" she asked.

"Uh, right. Absurd." Cuddy replied. She was walking on thin ice here. Stacy saw right through her and gasped.

"Please say you and House haven't-" she broke off her sentence. She exhaled. "You know what I mean."

Cuddy wasn't sure whether this situation called for her to lie or to bring up her and House's past at Michigan. Stacy really was becoming her friend, but she wasn't really sure what was going on between Stacy and House lately. There was certainly something happening there.

Stacy was looking at her expectantly. It was now or never, admit the truth or lie to her face and deal with repercussions later if they ever arose.

Cuddy held her thumb and first finger an inch away from each other as if to say_, just a little bit_.

"It was only once. Forever ago, really, in college."

"What?"

Cuddy buried her face in her hands, embarrassed.

"Just the once, it was a one night stand. It meant close to nothing."

"Close to nothing? So not _quite_ nothing?"

Cuddy looked up expecting to see Stacy mad, but she had a grin on her face. Was she amused by this? Cuddy let out a small laugh of relief.

"It was nothing at all." She chuckled.

"I want details." Stacy said with a wide smile. They were about to have one of those girly talks like high school teenagers do.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

House sat alone with his reading glasses resting on the bridge of his nose and his feet resting on the top of his desk. He had his hands folded across a books spine on his stomach, and as Stacy walked in she couldn't help but think he looked almost peaceful. Emphasis on almost.

"Hey there." She greeted him.

He nodded his hello.

"Anything you need or-?"

"Remember yesterday in Cuddy's office how you brought up the way everyone thinks you two had sex?"

House lowered his book suspiciously.

"Yes." He said with a quizzical tone.

"That's funny, because Cuddy told me a little story about Michigan."

"Did she?"

"Yep. She did."

"And what did this little story entail?"

"I think you know." Stacy had a sly grin on her face like she knew something he didn't and he wanted to wipe it off.

They both knew the exact story that was shared.

If he were being completely honest, he was mad Cuddy said anything about it at all. It had been more than twenty years since it had happened, and he never told anyone. He didn't brag about it, though at times he wished he could. He didn't tell Wilson, he didn't tell _anybody_. Why hadn't Cuddy kept this between them too? He didn't think Cuddy and Stacy were even that close.

"Look, it was a long time ago, whatever happened doesn't concern you."

"I know. Cuddy said, and I quote, it meant nothing at all to her."

That surprised House. He didn't think their night together meant nothing at all.

"She said that, did she?"

Stacy noticed the look on House's face. He looked slightly ticked off. Earlier she had been laid back about it because she really had assumed it was impossible for them to be anything between him and Cuddy. She assumed it would be something like an old joke. Suddenly she wasn't so sure. Her smile faltered and she felt the tiniest ripple of jealousy run through her.

"Yeah, it was nothing, though, right? Just a one night stand?"

"Why does it matter? You have Mark, why are you so interested?" House knew exactly why she was so interested though. Stacy would never be over him.

She was no longer smiling, but looking stunned. From the way House looked, the 'one night stand' meant something to him. She was hearing one thing from Cuddy and seeing another with House. Somehow she sensed House's reaction was the more honest of the two.

He hopped out of his seat and promptly left the office.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

House limped into Cuddy's office. She glanced up at him and he did not look happy.

"You told Stacy about Michigan?" he demanded an explanation.

"She asked. I answered." Cuddy continued to sort out papers on her desk.

"I always thought was just between us."

"You're just mad because I'm crimping your plans to take Stacy away from Mark and ride off into the sunset with her."

That answer seemed to infuriate him further. His nostrils flared lightly before he had a sobering moment and calmed himself.

Cuddy stopped and met his gaze. It was an intense stare that was almost difficult to hold for too long.

"It's not about that and you know it."

And she did know it. Stacy might very well be the first person to know about that outside of House and Cuddy themselves. It was almost a solemn secret they shared over all these years. She suddenly wished she had said nothing at all. It was like something sacred was lost and she was only just feeling the impact of it now. This was the first time they had both acknowledged that night directly in a very long time.

She tried to show her regret in her expression, to show him she understood.

"I know."

He stared at her for a long while. Cuddy began to wonder what he was thinking.

"Stacy said you told her it didn't mean anything at all to you."

Jesus, she really spilled the beans.

"I said that, but I didn't mean it, House." she narrowed her eyes. "Did it mean something to _you_?"

"Of course it did."

"Really? Because when you didn't call me the next day, the next week, and then the next 12 years I was pretty sure I was just another notch on your bed post that night."

"You were never _just_ anything, Cuddy." He said. His voice was softer than usual when he said this.

Hold the phone, House doesn't say things like that. He makes fun of people who say things like that. He didn't look sarcastic, so she was forced to assume he meant it. She just didn't have any viable response.

Now he was _really_ trying to piss her off. He couldn't just come and say these things to her twenty years after the fact. Those were the things he as supposed to tell her when it all happened, when she needed to hear it. Not now.

House looked at her and waited for something, anything. Cuddy sighed.

"Well you certainly didn't make that clear." She said angrily. "I thought I was just another Friday night quickie to you then and I still do."

And with that she stood up and marched out of her office, leaving him alone.

House shook his head, obviously still upset that she told Stacy everything. It was the one intimate thing between them that was just theirs. Or at least he thought it was, maybe Cuddy didn't see it that way at all.

* * *

More to come! That is if this doesn't suck and my muse cooperates of course. Leave me a review!

-Tiff


	2. Chapter 2: What the Fuck?

I know the wait on this one was really long, if anyone still cares about this story. Things have just been rough lately and when I would go to write nothing would happen. I couldn't be creative, I don't know. Things are (sort of) back on track but even so. Please leave a review even if you think this is the shittiest thing you've ever read.

* * *

For the next few days House and Cuddy pretended to be completely indifferent to each other. They ignored each other, but pretended everything was just _peachy_. Every interaction was intentionally impersonal. There were many forced, if not sarcastic, smiles on Cuddy's part and a lot less sexual tension on House's. Let's just say it was tough time for them both.

The _next_ week they were cold, icy, affronting and insulting each other at every turn. The annoyance that filled the air every time they were in the same room sprouted rumors across the hospital. This time the sexual tension was almost booming. For example, yesterday in the lobby:

"House, where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"The hell you are!"

"My patient is cured, there's no reason for me to be here." He countered.

"You're scheduled for clinic duty today." She arched her eyebrow with aggravation. House couldn't help but notice she was sexy when she was angry.

"Like I said, no reason for me to be here."

Cuddy scoffed. "Yeah, doing your job is no reason at all to stay."

House stepped in towards Cuddy, but she held her ground and stayed put. They were unreasonably close to each other. Was she supposed to mind or-? No, she did mind. She minded very much, in fact. He was always pushing, pushing her, pushing to get physically closer and pushing her away emotionally. She knew she was absolutely supposed to mind that he was invading her personal space but that didn't stop her from noticing how wonderfully he smelled.

"Even if I stay in the hospital you _know_ I would be sitting in my office, still skipping clinic hours."

"Do I? Because I think if your job was on the line your ass would be in the clinic."

House put his bottom lips out in a pouty face. "Oh no, please don't threaten my job! Well, I guess I have no choice but to go to the clinic, seeing as I'll be fired if I just keep walking." He tried to limp around her but she wouldn't have it. She placed her hand on his chest and shoved him just hard enough to startle him.

"Cuddy, has no one ever told you that violence is _never_ the answer?"

"No, actually." She said with a cocky attitude.

"Good because that's wrong actually, violence is almost always the answer."

"House, _get in the clinic_."

"No."

"Get in the clinic or you're fired."

"Seriously, Cuddy, when does that ever work? You won't fire me and everyone in this hospital knows they're empty threats too." He gestured around him to the people watching them fight.

Cuddy sighed and stepped away from him.

"Fine. Leave, don't leave, skip clinic duty, don't skip, I don't care."

What, she's just giving up? It was at this moment House had himself a grand idea.

Cuddy walked back to her office, just plain done with House. It had been like this all week, so tense since Stacy found out about their night together in college.

House went to the clinic and picked up a patients folder, obliging to Cuddy's wishes. This also has absolutely nothing to do with a plan that wasn't formulated in his mind. Nothing at all.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

House and Cuddy had returned to their normal banter, nothing vicious but not always playing nice either. House was acting odd in all sorts of strange ways, the first being that the banter wasn't vicious. He didn't insult her, he did his clinic duty on time without being told to do so, and the entire month Cuddy had not received one complaint from a patient, fellow doctor, no one.

He was in her office asking her a _serious_ question about a patient. That was weird in itself. He put the file on her desk and as she looked it over, he read it himself while looking over her shoulder. He was half-resting on her, his left collar bone meeting her right shoulder, with his arm casually around her and his hand resting on her waist lightly.

"You can see her white blood cell count is normal but she's still-"

Cuddy froze up and turned around. House put on an innocent face as their bodies got too close-this seemed to be becoming increasingly frequent lately- and took a slight step back.

"What do you think you're playing at?"

"Like I was about to say, the white blood cell count points to-" he gestured to the folder but was cut short once more.

"Stop it! Stop whatever you're doing, you're giving me whiplash. You're so confusing, first you act almost completely unemotional and distant, and then you're acting like a cold bastard. Now I'm not even sure what's happening, you're still an ass sometimes but you're also nice?" Her face was etched with utter confusion. Usually he was an ass most the time and nice on the slightest of occasions.

He nodded. "Yeah, weird… Anyways, are you busy Friday?"

"Yes, actually I am b-" she was so confused. "What the hell? I'm not going anywhere with you, House."

"Let me make it up to you, I'll go do some clinic duty while you look over the file."

"What? No!"

"No?" He inquired.

"You're not supposed to willing complete clinic hours, you were just fighting me on this not _one_ day ago!"

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Hmmm."

_What the fuck is this, _Cuddy thought.

She narrowed her eyes at him. The look on his face was one that indicated a plan. A scheme of sorts, and Cuddy was beginning to catch on. Cuddy breathed a sigh of annoyance.

"House."

"Yeah?"

"One might think you were buttering me up. Being so nice and all."

"One might think that, but one would be wrong."

"Then what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing's going on, Cuddy. Paranoia is a huge turn off for me by the way." He stated. And with that, he exited her office.

* * *

I'm not sure about this one, leave a review and again sorry for the wait.

-Tiff


	3. Chapter 3: Good Ol' Fashioned Cat Fight

Stacy watched House walk away from Cuddy's office with a satisfied look on his face. Cuddy looked somewhere between confused and pissed off. As she watched their transaction she would have felt jealous, had House not come over to her minutes later asking her if she was busy this weekend.

Stacy had since decided to keep her distance from the two. She had obviously gotten in the middle of something when she insisted on the story about Michigan, and things had been absolutely deranged since. House and Cuddy were both so bipolar, screaming at each other one moment and almost pals the next. The whole hospital felt the tension.

This Michigan story must have really struck a nerve for them both because things weren't the same anymore.

That was why Stacy found it even odder when House approached her asking to a play of some sort. It was happening at the local theatre Friday.

She didn't know why she accepted the invitation she was married, she was over House, she had moved on. There's nothing wrong with being friends with, well, an old friend…

[H] [H] [H] [H]

Cuddy scoffed as House left her office. She didn't know if she was supposed to be laughing at the irony or mad at him for screwing with her.

She tried to go back to her work, but it was so boring. Her mind was constantly drifting back to him. Not that she wanted to think about him, she would do anything to clear him from her thoughts.

He had a way of annoying her when he wasn't even in the room that she would never understand.

Drifting away into her thoughts, she placed her chin on her hand with her elbow on her desk. She couldn't help but wonder what it was House wanted to do on Friday. Cursing herself for not letting him finish his damn sentence, her mind wandered the possibilities. Did he want to invite her over for drinks, ask her out dinner?

She told House she was busy on Friday but to be quite honest she was rarely busy on weekends. No kids, no boyfriend, and she was the Dean of Medicine and administrator of a prestigious hospital. Free time didn't exactly come her way often and when it did, she sat home alone spending her well-deserved spare time relaxing.

But her eyes, they were getting so droopy. A small nap… just a quick doze at most… couldn't hurt. She closed her eyes and within seconds she was gone.

She had the strangest dream about House… very frustrating.

Twenty minutes later she awoke to the sound of her door clicking open slowly. Ugh, she was drooling. She collected herself as quickly as she could and looked up to see Stacy.

"Hi, Cuddy. Were you sleeping?" she asked, smiling. She seemed oddly happy.

"Hey, Stacy. I guess I dozed off. Do you need anything?" She stood up and walked to greet her.

"No, not really, I thought I'd just come in and say hi. We haven't talked much since that story time in your office a while ago."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been meaning to see if you wanted to go out sometime, just haven't gotten around to it being so busy." She lied. She had no intention of asking her to go out anywhere. Lately Stacy had begun to get on her nerves. She had no clue why.

"Oh, don't worry about it." She said in her southern drawl. There was an awkward silence. "So… anything new with you?"

"No, not really." She replied somewhat halfheartedly.

Stacy cleared her throat.

"This Friday I'm going to see a play." She sort of trailed off the end of her sentence. Cuddy was instantly suspicious.

"Sounds interesting." She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Yeah. Greg asked me." The way she spoke, she sounded superior.

"I'm sort of getting the feeling you came in here to brag to me about it."

"Are you sure that's not just a little green eyed monster chiming in?" Who the hell did Stacy think she was?

"Are you suggesting I'm jealous? Of what? A _married_ _woman_ going out with my employee?"

She emphasized the word married to just give Stacy a little reminder. Not that she should need one, or that Cuddy needed to give her one. Cuddy tried to play it off like she didn't care but she was pissed off House went and asked Stacy of all people.

Yes, House certainly did have a way of annoying her even when he wasn't around.

"Yeah, I am. All I did was bring it up and your entire demeanor changed." She pointed out.

"Well I hate to break it to you, but when he was in my office House asked _me_ to go to that same play before he asked you, but I turned him down. I wouldn't be acting so smug if I were you. You're only going because I'm not." Cuddy wasn't sure why she was acting like some snobby girl. Stacy seemed to bring that out in her.

"No he didn't, when he left your office he was smiling. Last I checked that wasn't the reaction rejection gets you."

"Oh, give it up. You just want me to see that he's still wrapped around your little finger and gloat."

"Like you weren't gloating when you told me that story about Michigan! You had to share so many little details about it when you know Greg is someone I lo-care deeply for."

"You asked me to! You said 'I want details'. What the hell are you complaining about?" Cuddy was raising her voice now. How the hell had the conversation gotten to this?

"Try and tell me you didn't get the slightest _thrill_ out of telling me about an intimate night you shared with my ex!"

She and Stacy were toe to toe now.

"If you have Mark and it didn't happen when you and House were together it makes no sense for you to be angry about it unless you don't want him to be interested in any other woman but you."

"That's absurd!"

"Is it? Because I'm pretty sure you-" she cut off her sentence midway because House had entered her office. He had some dopey smirk on his face. Cuddy coughed awkwardly and stepped away from Stacy.

House opened his mouth to talk, but stopped. He chuckled for a moment in disbelief and then tried again.

"Are you two fighting over me?"

"Absolutely not. We were, um, going over a lawsuit. It just got heated was all." Stacy tried.

"Yes, sadly we were fighting over you." Cuddy sighed. She didn't actually want to admit this to House but the _last_ thing she wanted was to team up with Stacy. Stacy shot her a glare.

"I could feel the tension all the way in the lobby." He laughed and shook his head again. "I shouldn't have interrupted. There could have been a good old fashioned catfight right here in your office."

"There would not have been a catfight, trust me." Stacy muttered.

"Well, we'll never know now, now will we." He replied with a sad sigh. "Anyways I need to talk to Cuddy." Stacy stayed there, not getting the message. House leaned towards her. "Alone."

"Oh! Yeah, sorry." Her cheeks were flushed red. She hastily retreated from the office.

"Is someone getting a wittle jealous of Stacy?" he talked in a baby voice and put his bottom lip out to look like he was pouting.

"She started it." She said unconvincingly.

"I see." He said skeptically.

Cuddy chuckled. "I don't know what came over me there."

"I do. You _like_ me, Cuddy. You have the hots for me."

"Why does it matter if I do, you're going out with Stacy Friday apparently."

"Oh, please. That was just to gauge your reaction, I didn't think the two of you would get into a fight about it. _That_ was just icing on the cake." He said with a devilish smile.

Cuddy laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it at least. That was probably the last of Stacy and I's friendship." Not that she cared that much.

"Since you already said you were busy Friday, how about tonight?" he asked with his eyebrows raised suggestively.

"Go call the Make-A-Wish Foundation." She laughed.

House just smirked and left her office.

* * *

Hey guys! I got a lot of great reviews on that last chapter, thank you so much for all those. They made my day. Here's another chapter! Leave a review on your way out, friends.

-Tiff


	4. Chapter 4: Late Night Visit

House limped through the lobby from Cuddy's office, in a better mood than normal. All the nurses and doctors look at him skeptically, not sure if it was genuine. He had been basically bipolar this past week, not to mention his entire career at PPTH.

He was going to go back to his team but something compelled him to go straight to Stacy's office. He looked in the window to her office and there she was, sitting at her desk. Pushing the door open he walked in greeted her with a nod.

"Oh, hi Greg." Her face was a light shade of red with embarrassment. "Sorry about all that in Cuddy's office."

"Don't be, that made my week." He smirked at her as he thought of the look on Cuddy's face when she chewed Stacy out. He quit smiling almost instantly as he remembered what he came down here for. House reached his hand into to the inside if his jackets breast pocket and pulled out two slips of paper. With a closer look Stacy noticed they were tickets, presumably to the play. Her face lit up.

She was confused when he handed her both, though. She raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"You're giving me two tickets instead of keeping one for yourself." She said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah. Looks like I can't go, you should have them." House said. "Turn it into date night with Mark or something." Stacy looked absolutely stunned.

"You can't go?"

"Actually I don't want to. But that works too."

"What did Cuddy say to you to change your mind?"

"Nothing, actually. Anyways, there you go."

"Wait-"

The door clicked behind him.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

It was maybe 9:30pm when House decided to head home. He had just solved his case, his patient had sarcoidosis. It was never sarcoid almost as often as it was never lupus.

At home he sat on his couch with a glass of whiskey in his hand. With everything being brought up he couldn't help but revisit memories from that night fifteen years ago. He and Cuddy had mind blowing, intense, sex, but it really was more than quick fuck to him.

He really did like Cuddy, and he still does though obviously they had both changed since then. If anything they were more suited to each other now than ever before.

He set his drink on the table, not really interested in it. Thinking about Cuddy, getting horny for him when they were twenty was making him horny. He thought about jerking off but decided instead to just pay her a visit.

He climbed into his Oldsmobile and set off to Cuddy's house.

His cane rapped against her door till he finally saw a bedroom light flip on. He stopped knocking in triumph when he heard Cuddy approaching the front door. The porch light was turned on a fraction of a second before Cuddy was there in front of him, wearing a nighty under a poorly tied robe.

"House," she groaned, "its eleven o'clock, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd stop by." He peered over her shoulder into her house. "You gonna let me in or what?" She stepped aside and sarcastically gestured for him to come in. House walked in and took a look around Cuddy's living room.

"I've been seeing a lot of this place lately."

"Don't get used to it. Also never search my house again." She chuckled.

After that neither of them said anything. They looked at each other, sort of sizing the other person up. There was a little awkwardness in the air but they hardly noticed.

"Really though, why are you here?" she asked.

House looked Cuddy in the eyes with a stare that was both hot and cold. "I don't know." He answered honestly. "I was at home and I started thinking about you and Michigan and drove over here on impulse I guess."

"If it helps I've been thinking a lot about that too."

There was a pause.

"Why the hell did you tell Stacy in the first place though? After this many years of keeping it between us why did you want to tell her? To make her jealous?" he questioned. He probably sounded more accusatory than necessary.

"Why would I want to make Stacy jealous?" she countered his question with another question.

"Oh, come on Cuddy. You like me and you know it, you always have."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"The hell I do, this morning when I said you had the hots for me you didn't try to deny it. You said it didn't matter because I was going out with Stacy Friday."

"And it doesn't matter."

"I'm not going out with Stacy Friday." Cuddy eyed House trying to figure out if he was lying or not. House obviously noticed. "I gave her both tickets and told her to have a date night with Mark." He said defensively.

"Why?"

"She wasn't the person I wanted to be there with." He said.

Cuddy dropped his gaze and looked at the floor, the ceiling, the ugly lamp in the corner, anywhere but his eyes. She didn't want to see his intense stare and blue eyes that made her melt and he didn't want him to see her melt. He'd know he was winning and keep pushing.

House stepped towards her slowly, his limp getting in the way.

"Do you have the hots for me, Cuddy?" he asked directly.

"I might." She said. "First tell me, when we screwed in college did it really mean anything or were you just saying it did to score points?"

"Did you really just say 'when we screwed'?" Cuddy glared at House. "Okay, okay, geez. It meant something to me Cuddy." She wanted more though. He sighed. "In med school I jumped from girl to girl, dumping one for the next as soon as they bored me. You never bored me Cuddy. You never have. You held my interest, you challenged me. Other girls practically drooled over me, hoping I would ask them out… it got old. You resisted my advances. You were the only one that meant anything."

"Then why didn't you ever call?"

"You know I got expelled the next morning."

"That's your excuse but you pretty much left me wondering about everything till now. It was an asshole move to make and you didn't give two shits about how I felt afterwards." Cuddy's anger was starting to build slowly.

This wasn't how House thought it would go at all. He didn't realize she had so many pent up feelings over their one night stand, but she did. She's had them bottled for all these years, and it crossed House's mind that maybe that's why she told Stacy. She was just tired of keeping it to herself and her thoughts. Instead of arguing more he decided if any time was the right time to back down it was now.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're not sorry. You're Greg House, you're never sorry." She scoffed.

"I'm sorry, I am."

She just shook her head at him.

"I want to go back to bed. I think it's time for you to go." She turned around and walked towards her room. "Lock up on the way out."

House didn't want to leave her house though, he didn't know what he wanted but he didn't want it to end like this. Otherwise the door would be closed forever.

"Cuddy, please."

Cuddy jerked around to face him angrily.

"I don't need you to screw with emotions. You've been doing this all goddamn week and I'm so tired, House." Her voice got so soft when she said she was tired. She just sounded resigned. "Goodnight." She muttered.

House watched her disappear down the dark hallway and stayed where he was for a moment.

"Well fuck." He muttered. He had to go, though. He drove back to his apartment quietly, mulling over what just happened. He was disappointed in how that went for sure.

* * *

Here's the next chapter, this is actually half a chapter since the original one I wrote was a bit long. More to come, I know where I'm taking the story now and I hope updates will be more frequent!

-Tiff


	5. Chapter 5: Pouring Rain

I got a review on the last chapter that my chapters were too short, so just to let you know this one is 1,500 words longer than my last! I hope that helps. Remember to review!

* * *

At work the next day House tried to find Cuddy almost everywhere but came up empty handed. He figured she was meeting at another hospital or in the office of some doctor he hated, which would indeed be a smart idea. He was in his office with his team, as they all presented him with new cases. He wasn't listening really, though.

"House… _House_…" Chase tried to get his attention. He waved his hand in front of House's face. "House!"

House smacked Chases arm down. "What?" he muttered in an annoyed tone.

"If you're not going to bother with choosing a case then at least give us something to do."

House thought about that for a moment.

"Go figure out where Cuddy is today." He said.

"What, why?"

"I believe it could have something to do with the fact that I'm your boss and I _told_ you to do it, but what does that matter."

"You don't do anything Cuddy asks you to do." Chase remarked.

"Well, I'm not a pushover like Cuddy so go and do it _now_."

Chase stood and left the office. House went over to his laptop and turned on some porn. Most had to do with hot and horny moms or screaming cheerleaders. He put his fist on his desk and rested his chin in the dip of it.

Foreman walked in with a new file, 23 year old female whose heart was basically strangling itself, eh. He was bored though so he figured he might as well take it to have something to do. They did the usual walk-through with different possibilities and… he was already zoning out, done with case before he had started. Foreman picked out the most humdrum case possible.

"What is with you today?" Foreman said. "Chase could barely get your attention and you're not interested in this case, not to mention that this patient is hot."

"Hot can be boring. If she were gorgeous, maybe I'd go take a look at her. Gorgeous isn't boring."

"If I tell you she is can you do your job?"

"It's not gonna work that you told me what you're doing. Oh, trust me. I'm _on to you_, Foreman." He said sarcastically. "You're a big boy, figure this one out yourself." Foreman just shook his head at House and walked out of the office.

House sat at his desk with Ball-y, tossing him in the air and against the wall for half an hour now. He bounced the red and gray ball against the wall but at the angle it hit it wasn't going to come back to him. It hit the floor and jumped back in the air, hitting the opposite wall before rolling on the ground to a stop. Chase entered the room, picked up the ball, and tossed it to House.

"What took you so long?" House demanded.

"I had clinic duty scheduled."

"That's your excuse?" He mocked.

"Some people actually follow through with their commitments."

"Your job to find Cuddy and report back wasn't a commitment?"

"Let me rephrase: important commitments." Chase retorted. He brought his hand up to move hair out of his face.

House gasped. "I'm hurt. Now tell where she is."

"She's in her office for crying out loud."

"Really? Thought I checked there."

Chase laughed. "Mornings are when she's busiest."

"Well, you've done your duty. Go find Cameron and Foreman, they'll need help running tests."

"I don't get a free pass for finding out where she was?" he held his hands up like he deserved a reward.

"Maybe if your answer was a little more impressive than 'in her office'. Go."

As Chase turned House noticed a bill sticking out of his pocket.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

When House got to her office though, she wasn't there. Damn. If Chase hadn't put his clinic time above coming back and telling him, she'd still be here. He groaned inwardly, not sure what to do next. He glanced around her office. Outside the rain was pouring down hard. He could take a nap on her couch till she got back, maybe. He eyed her desk, it was quite the comfy office chair she had. Very swivelly.

He gripped his cane and walked over to it, plopping down and turning several times. Stopping his rotation with his feet, he noticed Cuddy's laptop on her desk, open and logged into. Should he?

What a stupid question. Of course he should.

He went into her laptops' calendar to see what her schedule was for today. At two she had been touring the hospital with potential donor. It was nearing four o'clock; she had a board meeting then. Five-thirty she was teaching with med students. Seven-forty-five was an HR meeting. He could try to catch her on her way out from that. She had to be headed out by then.

He looked at the background on her laptop. It was some castle in France.

House must have fell asleep in Cuddy's swivel chair. It really was comfy. Sadly, he was awoken by the slam of an office door and a shrill 'House!'.

House almost jumped out his skin. He lifted his head up off her desk and saw Cuddy, and apparently Cuddy was seeing red. She looked furious.

"Get out of my chair. Get out of my office, actually." She said. Her tone was not a happy one.

"Where have you been all day?" he demanded.

"I was busy."

"Oh, come off it. It's a small hospital, I run into you on your busiest days when I'm trying to avoid you." As House spoke Cuddy was putting on her jacket and purse and picking up her umbrella. Cuddy said nothing. "Where you going?"

"Home." Cuddy turned around and walked out of her office.

House jumped to his feet and hobbled after her, trying to match her quick pace. Still a good fifteen feet behind her, she pushed through the final set of doors and opened her umbrella. House stood in the threshold just shy of the torrential downpour.

"Cuddy." House called for her to come back. It was raining, how was he supposed to try to catch up to her with his cane? "Cuddy!" she was obviously going to ignore him. "Screw it." He muttered. He limped into the rain at full speed towards her, probably looking awkward but he didn't care. Cuddy was almost at her car. The very heavy rain was freezing cold and soaking him to the bone. He felt like ice was making its way down his spine. Now he was gaining on her. "Cuddy! I'm out here in the fucking rain for you, how much more cliché do you want this to be?" he yelled through the loud, pounding rain.

House's walked with broken strides because him damn leg, but he was almost next to her now. As he was getting ready to talk when his cane came out from under him and his mutilated, useless leg hitched. He fell forward onto his left knee and caught himself with both his hands.

Cuddy instantly stopped and came to help House stand, but he swatted away her hands. "House…". He glanced up and saw in her eyes that she felt guilty, and that she was pitying him. He could feel it. He was humiliated. Her hand was on his shoulder again but he shrugged it off.

House's hair was plastered to his forehead and water was dripping into his eyes and off the hook of his nose. He used his cane to balance himself as he got up on his left leg and pushed himself up. Standing up all the way he winced slightly but tried to hide the cramp that just caused. There was definitely a small scrape on his knee as well. "I'm fine." He muttered.

With his eyes squinting through the rain at Cuddy, he battled to control his temper now. He was cold, aching, and miserable. And Cuddy was just standing in front of him silently under her little umbrella. She audibly sighed.

Stepping forward, Cuddy brought House under the umbrella to shield him from the rain. His anger faded. House gratefully bowed his head down to fit under with her.

"Why does everything always have to be so complicated with us?" she asked him, exasperated.

House just shook his head at her. "I don't know." He said quietly.

House looked over his shoulder at his bike and cringed at the thought of riding that home. He didn't have his leather jacket, the rain would sting. Almost reading his mind, Cuddy said, "Want a ride home?" with a small smile.

"Yeah."

They moved towards Cuddy's car and House tried to get in quickly before the rain soaked him again and shut the car door quickly. He breathed out a long sigh.

Quietly, Cuddy started the ignition and left the hospital parking lot.

As they drove neither of them spoke and the radio remained off. There was a silence broken only by the soft rumble of the engine and the occasional cleared throat.

"Sorry I'm getting your seats wet." House said.

"It's fine."

And things were quiet again. This wasn't like House and Cuddy ad they were both honestly tired of it. Either things would have to change or go back to normal, and soon.

"I had Chase tell you I was in my office when I wasn't. Sorry about that. I wasn't in the mood to talk."

"I saw Chase had money sticking out of his pocket and you're schedule said you were touring the hospital. I figured that one out pretty quick."

"Why'd you stay in my office then?"

"You had to come back at some point. Also have you felt your desk chair, the thing is fucking comfortable."

Cuddy chuckled. "Yes it is. I fell asleep there last week." She remembered the dream she had about House and instantly wanted to change the subject. House turned and looked at her and noticed as soon as she said that she clammed up.

"What?" House asked.

"What do you mean 'what?'?"

"You froze up when you said that."

"Oh, did I?" she said. She was talking with an overly innocent voice and a fake smile.

"Wow, you are being so transparent. What's so special about falling asleep at your desk?"

"Nothing, you're the one implying that there's something 'special' about it."

"No, your body language most certainly did."

"Seriously, all I did was bring up a nap." God, he was determined.

"You were uncomfortable after you brought it up."

"You're really not going to drop this?"

"Of course not." He replied, smirking at her annoyed tone.

She sighed. "Right before Stacy walked in and we had that little spat I was having a sex dream about you, okay?"

House obviously was, seeing the amused grin on his face. Any tension that was there before had, for the most part, dissipated.

House took a second to let it soak in.

"Was I good?"

Cuddy let out a boisterous laugh that made House shake his head at her with a smile smirk on his own face.

"I am so not answering that." She laughed.

They pulled up to House's apartment building, thankfully with much less tension than the ride had started with. Cuddy pulled up to the sidewalk and put the car in park. All was quiet.

Cuddy spoke first. "Do you mind if I come in and use your bathroom?"

"Yeah, yeah… sure."

They walked through the rain quickly into the building and stopped at apartment B. House pulled out his key chain and twisted his key into the lock, opening the door. House peeled off his soaked socks and sneakers and set them aside.

"The bathrooms at the end of the hallway," he pointed, "it's gonna be a bit messy."

House followed her all the way down the hall and when she stepped in the bathroom he went the opposite way into his bathroom to put dry clothes on.

Before walking back out into the hallway Cuddy peed and fixed her hair. She stepped out and looked around the corner. The door to his bedroom was open six inches and Cuddy peeked through it. He was in there, peeling off wet clothes. She knew she should look away, she had to look away. But his clothes were sticking to him and she couldn't bring herself to do it.

First he pulled his wet jacket down his arms and threw it on the floor. Now he had just a see through t shirt and his pants. He sat down on his bed and slowly tried to pull his jeans off. He winced as he did so, his right leg cramping. The pants were off but he stayed where he was for a moment breathing.

The pain must have subsided because he reached down to the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head. There was a sticking noise as the wet material left his skin.

Cuddy kept thinking, _move now. Leave. Stop watching_.

Her feet stayed put as she witness House sit on his bed in just his blue boxers. Half his scar was visible. He stood and walked to his dresser, pull out boxers, a new shirt and sweatpants. House pulled on the new t-shirt. He reached towards the partially wet boxers he was wearing now and Cuddy held her breath.

At the first sight of his pubic hair Cuddy backed off and turned around, cutting herself off from seeing anything else. She let her breath out and walked back towards his living room.

She sat down on the couch and waited for him to come out.

He limped towards Cuddy with a look on his face that almost seemed satisfied.

"Enjoy the show?"

Cuddy's face went red. "You caught that?"

House didn't seem mad at. "Yep. When you decided to finally leave you didn't do it quietly."

Cuddy cursed herself. "Sorry." She was so embarrassed.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"I know." She sighed.

"Luckily we aren't cats." He said.

Cuddy looked at House trying to figure him out. What the hell did that mean? They made eye contact and House tried to drink her in. They looked at each other till it became almost indecent.

She stood up and pointed to the door.

"I should probably go now…" she said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

She walked to the door with House behind her.

"I think I deserve a good-bye kiss."

"You _deserve_ a good-bye kiss? For what?" she said incredulously.

"I let you use my bathroom out of the kindness of my heart. Not to mention you took the opportunity to be a peeping tom."

Cuddy laughed, still embarrassed he saw her.

"In your dreams."

"Actually, in yours."

"Ha. Good one." She said sarcastically. She turned to the door but as she opened it House put his hand against it and closed it again.

"Come on, Cuddy. Really, just a tiny peck."

Cuddy sighed. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his very briefly and retreating. She took a step back but House stepped with her, taking her lips again. She originally kept the kiss so short out of fear she wouldn't be able to pull back. Now Cuddy knew she was powerless to resist at this point, with his lips sliding over hers and his tongue trying to gain access. Wow, he really knew how to use that thing. The kiss was hot, if not indefinite, and there was so much emotion being put through it. House pressed her against the door, pinning her to it.

Bringing her hands to House's face, she was running her thumbs across his jaw. His stubble felt like sandpaper against her skin and she loved it. He moved to attack her neck, licking and sucking at her sensitive skin.

Cuddy let out a gasp of pleasure and her knees almost buckled. House was set on keeping her there though, moving his hands to her waist. He gripped her hungrily.

House removed his mouth from her throat, confusing Cuddy. She opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly.

"You look gorgeous." He said quietly. He put his hand just under her chin, tilting her face upwards so he could kiss her lips delicately. Cuddy had never known House to be so gentle.

Cuddy answered by throwing her arms around his neck and bringing him back in. House's kisses were addicting. Once she had one, well, she couldn't just have one. He was like popcorn but a thousand times better. House slid his hand down to her ample ass.

He could feel himself getting hard, and fast. He would bet money Cuddy was soaking wet right now too, and not from the storm outside. House stopped kissing her. He took Cuddy's hand in his own and guided it into his sweatpants and boxers, having her touch his stiff member.

"Want to see what you missed earlier?" he whispered into her ear.

* * *

The next chapter will be M rated, if you don't like it don't read it! Pleease leave a review for me, I worked hard on this one.

-Tiff


	6. Chapter 6: Broken Bones and Chest Tubes

I know, I know, its been an entire month. I hated not writing, and I'm back. A review I got is pretty much the whole reason I got this out, so thank you Ana.

* * *

Cuddy woke up reluctantly that morning, feeling good. Better than she had felt in a while, at least. She stretched her arms over her head and breathing in deeply. Everything smelled like leather and old books, and she liked it.

Her bed usually smelled like lavender though… She shifted her arms back down. Her sheets felt scratchier than usual. Her eyes still closed, she twisted and laid on her other side. Her hand landed on something soft, warm.

She opened her eyes, disoriented, to see that she was in House's bed and that her hand was laying on his bare back.

Then she remembered she had slept with House last night. It had been phenomenal sex, to be honest. The way he touched, licked, sucked, it blew her mind thinking about it again.

She and House were hardly covered by a sheet. She lifted the sheet up and looked at House. He was lying completely naked on his stomach. She didn't miss the opportunity to stare at his ass.

Noticing she was naked herself, she got out of bed slowly and put on her clothes from the night before. Her phone read 9:00am.

"Crap!" she muttered, rushing to gather herself now. She should have been at work hours ago. House lifted his head wearily with one eye open, blocking the light from the window out.

"Cuddy, what're you doing?" he said half-asleep.

"I slept past my alarm, and I missed a meeting I had at eight with the board. They're going to be furious."

"Come back to bed, it's too early for this."

Cuddy was balancing on one foot, putting a high heel onto her other. She gave him an annoyed look and kept hurrying on her way. She walked into House's bathroom and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make it look at least presentable. Her makeup was smeared too. She wiped it off the best she could and fished some eyeliner and mascara out of her purse to fix it.

She went back into House's room to see him sitting on the edge of the bed with his underwear and sweatpants on, still shirtless.

"How do I look?" she asked hesitantly.

"Like you got laid last night." He said with a smirk. She was a mess. She groaned. "Hey, come here." House grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. She looked down at him and felt herself relax. House was usually the cause of her stress, and though he was indirectly her cause of stress right now, she found he was soothing her. "You look fine." He patted his lap and she sat down on it. She breathed in the essence of House and everything was okay.

He brushed her hair out her face and kissed her sensually and slowly, causing her to shudder. She rested her hand on his ribs, delving into this kiss. Regretfully she pulled back.

"I have to go to work." The sight of his bare chest wasn't making this easy.

"Fine." He walked with her to the door. "See you soon."

"How soon? It's almost ten. You need to get your ass into work too."

"But mooom…" Cuddy gave him her 'boss' look. "Okay, okay, 11:00 at the latest." She raised her eyebrows. "10:30?" she nodded and gave him a peck on the lips, the turning to leave the apartment. She opened the door and stepped out.

On the way to the hospital she recalled the events of last night, focusing on little details.

_"Want to see what you missed earlier?" he whispered into her ear. Her hand was grazing his hard penis, with his hand on top of hers, guiding her._

_She pulled her hand out of his pants, and his expression showed his confusion. She assured him with a kiss on the mouth. "Come on." She said with a smile._

_They walked to his bedroom once more. There was a wet spot on the bed from where House had sat in his soaked jeans. _

_She hooked her thumbs on the waistband of his sweatpants and pulled them down to his calves. House stepped out of them, and pulled his own shirt off. Cuddy reached to pull her own top off but House caught her hands, wanting to do it himself. He swept it over her head and took a second to take her in. He tossed the shirt aside and stepped into Cuddy, putting his hands on her hips and capturing her lips in his. Cuddy pushed House so he backed up and sat on the bed._

_He used his muscled arms to scoot back in his bed to make room for her. Cuddy removed her skirt and stood before House in her bra and underwear, who was just enjoying the show from the bed. She reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, letting it slide slowly down her arms. _

_She reached down and shimmied out of her panties, standing completely nude in front of him. _

_"Get over here." He muttered with a smirk. She put her hands and knees on the bed, crawling over to him. She rolled and lay down, and he hovered over her. Cuddy slipped her hands into his boxers and moved her hands up and down his dick._

_She dragged his boxer down as well, his cock out in all its glory. Before she knew it House was inside her, and they were moving and creating friction in a rhythm all their own._

[H] [H] [H] [H]

That morning Cuddy was swamped with work. She was too busy to even check whether or not House had come into work on time.

Her schedule was packed at usual and she knew she would have a late night to look forward to. She had to meet with HR in twenty minutes, again, to convince them not to take action against House. Dr. Shepherd had filed a complaint claiming House used racist humor against him. She didn't doubt that he did, but him being punished wouldn't help anyone, and make life a lot harder for her in fact. She would deal with him on her own.

Cuddy had to leave the hospital to see a would-be donor. It was one part of her job she loathed, having to suck up to them and make them feel important to get their money.

She was out to lunch with a very elderly man, John Walsh, who happened to also be a very wealthy man.

"We were actually planning on expanding our Radiology wing soon, your donation would be a great help to us."

"What's Radiology?"

"The use of X-ray machines, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, and other instruments to diagnose or treat diseases."

"That sounds mighty complicated." He chuckled.

"It depends the patient, sometimes- excuse me one moment Mr. Walsh." She was getting an emergency page from Chase. House was hurt.

"Call me John." The old-timer said happily.

"John, I think I may have to reschedule this meeting. One of my employees has been injured."

He looked disappointed as she stood up. She shook his hand and he smiled politely.

"Why, that's quite alright… don't mind having lunch with a pretty lady twice." He said with a genuine smile. Cuddy couldn't help but think he was the least snobby donor she'd ever had to meet.

"I look forward to meeting again, and I'm terribly sorry to have to leave."

"Don't you worry, Ms. Cuddy."

She smiled. "Call me Lisa."

[H] [H] [H] [H]

She left the restaurant to go see what happened to House. Had he crashed his motorcycle? He couldn't have, he left it at the hospital last night. What was it? Upon arrival, Chase was already in the lobby waiting for her.

"Our patient had a psychotic break when House was in the room. The patient used a chair to attack him, breaking three of his ribs. A broken rib punctured his right lung."

Cuddy went straight to the emergency room. She saw House laying in a hospital bed with his button-down shirt strewn open and a chest tube inserted into his chest. His ribs were covered with fresh black and purple bruises. His flesh looked nothing like it did when she was ogling at it this morning. There was an oxygen mask that he was wheezing into. His eyes were shut as he tried to catch his breath.

And the worst part was that Stacy was there before her, consoling him.

She came up next to House quickly, in shock at seeing him so broken up. She wanted to take his hand, to put her hand on his hair, to do _something_ to comfort him. Apparently Stacy had had that same thought because she reached out to hold House's hand.

House let her for about five seconds then pulled his hand out of her grip. Stacy looked like she was distressed he wouldn't allow her to do so.

"House." Cuddy said softly. She wasn't sure what to do but she wanted to be there for him. His eyes snapped open and locked in on her.

He reached up to his oxygen mask but Cuddy stopped him, her hand on his. "Don't try to talk, just breathe. I'm here." House wrapped his fingers around Cuddy's hand and dropped his arm tiredly to the mattress.

Chase and Stacy both stared at House grabbing her hand. That was odd, they'd been at each other's throats for weeks, and now House was denying Stacy's comfort and seeking Cuddy's.

Wilson came practically jogging in, looking worried.

"I just heard, what happened?" he asked. He looked from House, to Cuddy, to their hands, then back to House, then to Cuddy.

Cuddy could feel them looking and noticing and pulled her hand out of House's grip lightly, trying to be inconspicuous.

"A patient experienced a psychotic break at attacked him with a chair." Chase stated.

Wilson looked slightly dumbfounded. "He's okay right?" He asked. House shot Wilson a dirty look for talking about him like he wasn't even in the room. Wilson held up his hands defensively.

"He'll be just fine, but when he goes home he'll need someone to stay with him and take care of him, those broken ribs will be painful for some time." Chase gestured to Wilson. "Will you be the one staying with him or-?" he trailed off.

"I would but I can't, I'll be gone for two weeks. The vacation I was planning, my wife will never forgive me if House ruins this for her."

House reached up to his oxygen mask.

"Tell her..." he wheezed. "I'm sorry if my beating…" another breath, "was inconvenient for her…." He pulled his mask back to his face. He _had_ to be sarcastic when he could hardly catch his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back into the pillow in pain, which caused him to bring his hands to his ribcage. Moving at all was killing him.

Chase looked expectantly at Stacy and Cuddy. "So one of you, I presume?"

"I'll do it." They said in unison.

"It's okay, I'll do it." Cuddy said in an overly polite tone.

"I used to be his _girlfriend_; I think I'm the most well-suited person. I know what he needs." Stacy said in a way as though she thought this had settled it.

"I'm a _doctor_, and I've known him for twenty years. I think it makes more sense for me to see to his needs." Cuddy retorted sassily.

Stacy glared at her with a flame of frustration in her eyes.

"Will you just back off already?" She exclaimed. "We get it! You and House had a fling!"

Chase and Wilson's eyebrows both rose with surprise.

"Had what?" Chase said incredulously.

"What fling? You had a fling?" Wilson stammered. He was giving House a look that said 'what the fuck, House' pretty clearly. House gave a nervous look back at the argument he saw brewing between the women. He didn't want Stacy to know, let alone Chase and Wilson.

Stacy continued, "So you can stop trying to make yourself seem like some damn important part of his life because we all know that's gone and passed, Cuddy. Get over it."

"You're the one who needs to get over him!" She stated. "You guys broke up five years ago, you're married, there are other people willing to help him, and yet you're still insisting it be you! Yeah, it sure sounds like you're over him to me." She said sarcastically.

"At least I had something with him, what you two had meant nothing. It's been over for decades."

Cuddy didn't answer and Stacy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "It's been over for decades, right?"

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see House nodding his head furiously behind Stacy.

"What do you want to prove here? That you were more important to him? It's irrelevant." Cuddy said.

She stepped towards Cuddy.

"Just answer my question." House was gesturing for her to lie before closing his eyes in pain. Chase and Wilson were bewildered at what was going on.

Confidently, Cuddy decided how she would deal with this problem. She would play the administrator card.

"Mrs. Warner, seeing that you are neither family nor doctor, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

Wilson's jaw literally dropped. Chase whispered to him, "She did not!"

"She did." He sighed.

Stacy went pink in the face, embarrassed. Cuddy had just won and she would look stupid trying to deny it. Furiously, she strutted out of the room and back to her office to stew.

"We'll give you two, urm, some time alone." Chase said awkwardly. He tapped Wilson on the shoulder for him to come with him. Wilson pulled the privacy curtains even, making Cuddy smile.

Cuddy stepped forward and rested her hand on the back his head, moving her thumb in a circle. House's eyes were closed. He needed to get rest anyways. Cuddy couldn't believe the state of his chest. If Cuddy wasn't used to seeing this type of thing daily she'd say it was downright disgusting to look at.

House opened his eyes to look at her. She gave him a sad smile.

"You should sleep." She said.

"I need more meds." He muttered through his mask.

Cuddy looked at his dosage. He could handle more. She upped his pain meds and came back to his side. House pulled his oxygen mask and hung it around his neck.

"Thanks for dealing with Stacy for me. One less thing for me to take care of, and entertainment to take my mind off the pain."

She smiled. "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now that Wilson and Chase heard about the so called 'fling'."

"That is unfortunate. I kinda liked being your dirty little secret."

"I kind of liked having one." Cuddy chuckled. "You really should sleep though."

"Rub my beard." He demanded. He sounded like a child who had the flu and wanted to milk it for attention.

"You want me to _rub your_ _beard_?"

House nodded. "I'd ask you to rub something else, but now doesn't really seem like the time." She gave him a chastise look, but couldn't help smirking. "It'll help me sleep."

Cuddy sat on the edge of his bed and moved her fingers through his beard. House shook his head. "No, you gotta do it like this." He took her hand and moved it in the just the right way. "There, that feels good." He groaned.

Cuddy must have run her fingers through his beard for an hour. Even after he was asleep, she liked the friction and the way it made her skin tingle. The rhythm of it soothed her as well as House. She yawned, wondering what time it was. About seven.

She shifted off the bed and into the chair, getting comfy. She would have stayed there but if she had moved and disturbed House in his condition he would be in a world of pain. Cuddy hated to see him in pain.

She could feel herself falling asleep slowly, then all at once.

* * *

Tell me your thoughts! Sorry again that I took so long. A guy seriously told me to rub his beard before and apparently I did it wrong because he had to correct me. I thought it would apply to Huddy nicely. See you soon friends

-Tiffanie


	7. Chapter 7: An Abundance of Thinking

I got my momentum back with this story, and hopefully that won't change. Nothing big happens in this chapter, its a bit of a filler in between the last chapter and the next event to come. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, share ideas if you have them!

* * *

Cuddy woke with a start. Chase was tapping her on her shoulder.

"Cuddy…" he whispered. "Hey, Cuddy…"

Her eyes snapped open wide. She looked around, noting she was in the hospital. She looked at her watch. 7:30am. She brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes wearily.

"Yeah, Chase… what."

"You have a meeting at 8:00, your assistant sent me to ask if you wanted that pushed," he asked in a whisper.

Cuddy looked down at herself. She was literally wearing the same suit she had worn the day before, and the day before that. She had a spare blouse in her office and used that yesterday since she had spent the night at House's and had showered in her office's bathroom.

"Crap. Yeah. I need to go home for a couple hours." Cuddy sighed. She just kept waking up in places that were not her bed and it was getting disorienting.

Chase nodded. "Absolutely, I'll go to talk to her now." he turned to leave with a smile.

"Chase." She called. "Where's House at?" His hospital bed was vacant and the sheets were fresh.

"Around 2:00am a private room opened up so they wheeled him up there, I guess no one wanted to wake you. Room 314, by the way."

Cuddy groaned and stretched her neck. She definitely had knots. Deciding she would go up to his room before heading home to shower and eat, she walked to 314.

The sliding door was shut with the blinds closed. She pushed past them to see House awake in his bed, watching a rerun of _Prescription: Passion_.

"Hey," she said groggily.

"I was wondering when you would be coming out of that coma." He said.

She groaned. "I'm so tired. I need a good night's sleep." Cuddy walked up to his bed and leaned so her hips were against the frame of the bed. "How do you feel?" she asked, noticing the chest tube had been removed in her absence.

He winced. "Breathing hurts like hell. Coughing, sneezing, and laughing are a nightmare. My chest is killing me. My leg doesn't hurt though." He said quietly.

She felt a sting of guilt upon remembering that it was her fault he was glad his leg wasn't hurting for the first time in a very long time. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he pointed to the morphine.

"You should be back to normal in about a month. Coughing and sneezing like nobody's business." She said with a tired smile. "When are they letting you go home?"

"I'm busting out of here later tonight." He grimaced slightly at the pain brought on by talking.

"They're not seriously letting you out tonight?" She reached for his chart at the end of the bed.

"I didn't say they were letting me out tonight, I said I'm leaving tonight."

She gave him miffed look. "Stay here if you need to stay here." She said. "Look, tomorrow's Friday. Just stay in the hospital today and tomorrow when I get off work I'll take you home. I'll be with you the whole weekend and I'm taking next week off to help you recover at home. Think you can wait?"

He scoffed and instantly regretted. He ground his teeth and threw his head back with closed eyes. Cuddy couldn't stand to see him like this. She never could. She waited for it to pass.

He groaned trying not to let out too big a breath. "I was going to say, you want me to stay here for two more days?"

"You should be staying longer! That's early for three broken bones and a punctured lung." she said defensively.

"I guess I could always find someone else willing to help me out…" he said. He was obviously hinting towards Stacy.

Cuddy instantly stiffened. "No," she blurted out reflexively, cutting House off. "No, I got it."

The thought of Stacy helping House into a shower or bath, helping him pull on a shirt, cooking for him, sitting on his couch with him, watching his favorite soaps with him… it would torture her to be at work knowing she would be doing those things for him. It would be almost like falling into old habits for them.

She wanted to do those things; she wanted to be with him.

There was a mischievous glint in House's eyes Cuddy couldn't help but notice. She narrowed her eyes.

"You ass!" she said.

"I was going to say someone from the team, I swear." He said, lying transparently. He was obviously trying to fight a small smirk and failing.

"Oh, you were not." She chuckled.

"You're cute when you're jealous." He said like that was the obvious explanation.

"Ass." She repeated, even though she was smiling. She sighed. "I'm going to head home for a couple hours to eat and shower and probably nap."

"Be back before lunch, I want someone to eat with."

"Wilson isn't here?" she asked.

"He went home to pack, he leaves tomorrow. He's a model employee so he gets away with it."

"Alright, I'll be here by one o'clock then." She said. She had been leaning on the bed frame. She pushed off of it and pulled her purse onto her shoulder.

"You're going to leave without giving me a kiss?" he asked, half-sarcastic. He really did want a kiss.

She crinkled her nose. "At the hospital?"

He looked over her shoulder. "The sliding door is shut and the blinds are pulled. It couldn't be more private." He said.

Admitting to herself that she wanted to kiss him, and the fact that it was in the hospital made it seem forbidden, was making her want to kiss him more. She knew a kiss was the inevitable consequence of them being in the same room.

She took a step back towards the bed, bending over to meet him because House trying to lean towards her would double him over in pain and knock the wind out of him.

Their lips met a little roughly as he put his hands in her hair. He covered her mouth in a hungry but controlled kiss. She responded immediately, returning the kiss more passionately than she intended it to be.

House, being House, slid a hand from her hair slowly down her back and stopping at her ass. He gave it a firm squeeze and Cuddy took that as her wake-up call to pull back. She gave him one last quick, soft kiss.

"Okay. Now I really have to go." She said.

House was trying not to breathe at a faster rate than usual to avoid the pain that would follow, though he could feel the stress on his chest already.

He watched her ass as she left the room.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

As Cuddy drove home and thought about House, and arguing about House with Stacy, and having sex with House, and sleeping by House's bed, and kissing him in the hospital, and wondered. She mostly wondered what the hell they were to each other. Nothing at all had been established, and frankly, she was clueless.

This is what she knew: they were more than friends. They weren't dating or in any formal relationship.

And that was it.

She wasn't even sure what she wanted. Was she interesting in dating him? Did she just want someone to sleep with on the weekends? Is that all _he_ wanted? She realized what dangerous territory she was in

She thought about this as she ate and as she showered, and as she slipped into her bed for a rest. She thought about it as she slipped in and out of consciousness. She decided she would think about it more in the next couple days she spent with him.

Subconsciously she really knew she wanted more than just someone to sleep with, though. Her conscious mind always was slow on the pick-up.

* * *

Thoughts and complaints?

-Tiffanie


End file.
